


Slow and Steady Wins The Race

by CHIKDNOODLE



Category: Atypical (TV 2017)
Genre: Angst, Enemies to Lovers, F/F, I am so sorry, I did yet another thing, This is just a shitshow, its a multichap well done me
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-29
Updated: 2019-03-10
Packaged: 2019-10-19 00:44:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,544
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17591537
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CHIKDNOODLE/pseuds/CHIKDNOODLE
Summary: I’m bad at summaries....Casey has never questioned anything in her life, so why was she questioning this?





	1. Chapter 1

Casey has never questioned anything before, not really. When Sam was diagnosed she just, understood. When all few years later she was offered a place at Clayton Prep, she didn’t question it, only knowing that it was the only opportunity she had to eventually leave town. She didn’t even question it when she saw her Mum kissing someone that definitely wasn’t her Dad. Casey just went with it. 

But this.

This was new.

She was a bitch. Casey tried to make a friend on her first day, she really did, but that girl, Izzie, was a lost cause. She was rude, unwelcoming, and quite frankly a massive knobhead. And usually, Casey would ignore her after this, pursue other people, find her “people”. But this time was different. She didn’t know why, but there was something about Izzie. Something that she wanted to follow. So Casey resolves that she’d try again tomorrow. 

She forgot to. 

A few days later Casey’s first official practice with the track team was looming ahead. A new coach, a new track, and a new team. Stepping outside onto the clean asphalt she was met with the team. They were talking about the school holidays, and Casey tried to pay attention, she really did. But just behind Quinn, tying old, battered, nike trainers,was Izzie. Sure, Casey knew she was on the team, but she didn’t think she would be so dumbfounded when she saw her in the uniform. All of a sudden the talking of Quinn was directed to her. 

“So, Casey, what did you do in the holidays?”  
“Um… nothing really, just went to target a couple of times.”

All of the girls burst out laughing, thinking Casey had just told a joke. Well, all except Izzie. Their eyes met, and all Casey could see in hers was confusion. The rest of the team took off running to meet Coach Crowley, and naturally Casey followed.

They were meant to be jogging. And Casey was out in front, her jogging pace second to no one. They weren’t even close to her. Except from Izzie. Casey heard her feet against the asphalt before she saw her, but then all of a sudden they were side by side with Izzie working to overtake Casey. There was no way on earth Casey was going to lose whatever unspoken race they had going on. So she sped up. At this point they were about a third of the track ahead, the other girls trailing behind. But they just kept going, and the original jog became a sprint.

“Ladies! This is not a sprint!” Neither girl heard the coach, and neither showed any sign of stopping. And then Izzie fell. 

“Oh my God, are you ok?” She didn’t know why, but she needed to know Izzie was alright. Even though she was a massive bitch. Casey was pulled out of her thoughts by Izzie finally opening her mouth to speak.

“You tripped me!” She said accusingly, pointing her uninjured hand’s finger at Casey.

“No I didn’t.” Casey said with watery eyes. Wait. Watery eyes? Why did she care about this girl calling her out? She sighed.

“Right you two, into my office. Now.” Coach Crowley was angry. Like really angry. And it wasn’t even Casey’s fault. She hadn’t even touched Izzie, but she still followed behind Coach Crowley and Izzie with her head pointed down guiltily. 

As soon as they sat down at the desk, Coach Crowley held up both of her hands. 

“Look, I don’t want to know what happened. I don’t really care who did what and who’s lying or whatever and this little disagreement won’t be going on your records.” 

Oh thank God for that. Casey hadn’t even been at Clayton for a month yet, she didn’t need to be thrown out yet, especially for something she didn’t do. She was about to thank the coach when she began to speak again: 

“However, this is a team girls, and I’m not saying you have to love each other, but you kind of have to love each other. So,” she clasped her hands together, standing up out of her chair. “You two will stay in here until you’ve worked things out. Casey, you will ice Izzie’s hand, and when you’ve sorted out your issues you may leave.” The Coach started walking out of the office.

“You know I think we worked everything out!” Casey said hopefully.

Coach Crowley ducked her head back into the room. “You know, I don’t think you have.” She moved back out of the office, shutting the door and walking down the corridor.

Well shit.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is a massive clusterfuck of Casey and Izzie actually getting to talk properly, also I’m a comma slut and I’m not sorry

As soon as the door closed, the heavy tension filling the room became one hundred times thicker. Casey, remembering the coach’s words, picked up the small plastic baggie of ice, making to put it on Izzie’s wrist to try and stop it looking so red and angry. A lot like Izzie’s face. Izzie was having none of it, scowling as she snatched the bag away with her good hand.

“I can ice my own hand.” She spat.   
Just after that she suddenly looked guilty and leans back in the office chair, sighing deeply.

“I need to make a phone call, but someone,” she glared at Casey “pushed me. So now I can’t use my wrist.”

Oh for fucks sake. Not this again.

“I didn’t push you, I was nowhere near you.” When was she going to drop it? It was getting so annoying now. All Casey wanted was to get on with her. Wait. No she didn’t. Huh?

“Oh whatever.” Izzie sighed. “ Can you just hand me my phone out of my backpack?”

Izzie sounded so tired, Casey thought. They weren’t even running for the that long and Clayton days weren’t exactly exhausting, so what was wrong with her? It shouldn’t matter. Izzie was just an attention seeking brat, just like the rest of the rich kids attending Clayton. But regardless, she stood up and made her way over to Izzie’s bag. Casey reached into the front pocket of the bag and pulled out a phone that had definitely seen better days. She thought it was a bit weird that Izzie had such a run down phone; if she were as rich as the other kids Casey was sure she’d have the newest one on the market. But whatever, she was overthinking again. Casey walked back over to the desk and handed the phone to Izzie, the girl immediately snatching it. Suddenly the girl was talking again, and this time not to Casey. Who was she ringing? 

“Hey, it’s Izzie. Yeah, I need you to have the baby for a little longer, is that ok? Thanks.” Wait a second. She had a kid?!

“No, I’m not an idiot.” Shit. She said that out loud didn’t she. “My mother is.”

“Oh hey! Mine too!” 

Izzie raised an eyebrow and settled back into her chair sighing.

“Not that it’s any of your business, but I look after my three siblings.”

Oh. So she wasn’t a rich bitch. Common ground. Finally.

“I um, my brother’s autistic, so I have to look after him a lot.” Casey perched easily on the edge of the desk and smiled slightly at Izzie, causing the other girl to smile back at her. She had finally, finally done it. She had got Izzie to speak to her. Properly. Without any nasty comments. It really was that easy.

——

They spent the next hour talking about anything and everything, they got on so well that Izzie’s ‘accident’ was a distant memory. It turned out that Casey had Izzie all wrong. She wasn’t stuck up. She wasn’t rich. She was here on a scholarship, just like Casey, and that meant she was under the same pressure.

“You know, Penelope crashed her car into a tree last week. You know what she got? She got a brand new car. Quinn actually has a bottle of vodka in her locker in case she gets bored.”

“Wait, really?” 

“Yep, and a bikini, for some reason.” Izzie giggled. “But for me this school, what I do here, it matters. I feel like I have to be perfect, all the time, and it's exhausting.”

 

“Is that why you’re such a dick to me all the time?” Casey thought aloud.

“Probably.” Both girls giggled at the comment.

“Or I might just be a dick.” Izzie said, grinning.

By this point Casey was struggling to stop laughing, laying back in her seat and propping her feet up on Izzie’s lap.

—-

“You know, I read about this guy in Vermont. I think it was Vermont. And he runs a hundred miles at a time. Like, he will literally walk out of his house and go on a hundred mile run.”

“Oh my god dude, get a job!” Izzie said, spinning around in the desk chair she was sat in.

Casey chuckled. “Actually, when I read it, I thought it was pretty great. That kind of freedom. But now I don’t know.”

“What do you mean?” Izzie scrunched her face up in confusion.

“Like, I mean, I think it was dumb to think that I could ever leave here. Sam and my Dad, they need me. I used to want to get as far away from this place as possible, but now I’m not really sure that I ever will.” Casey sighed. The girls sat in silence for a few seconds, then suddenly Izzie jumped up out of her chair, clasping her hands together.

“I, have decided” she said, bouncing up and down slightly, “that I am sick, and tired of being perfect. So,” Izzie said, walking towards the door, “I will be right back.”

Casey heard Izzie’s trainers squeaking against the linoleum as she walked away, then stopped, then practically sprinted back to the office. Izzie slowly made her way through the door with one hand behind her back.

“What’ve you got there Iz?”

Izzie quickly pulled her hand out from behind her back to reveal a bottle brimming with clear liquid.

“I raided Quinn’s locker.” She was grinning from ear to ear, and soon enough Casey found herself smiling too, as Izzie went over to Coach Crowley’s desk and grabbed the mug the lay on it, throwing it to Casey who caught it with ease. Izzie threw the cap off of the cheap looking bottle and took the first swig for herself, then pouring Casey’s mug full to the brim with the suspicious substance. She immediately took a sip, wincing as the liquid burned her throat as she swallowed.

“What do you think? Better?”

“I think I like not being perfect.”

“So do I.” Izzie threw herself back into the couch, and by extension, Casey, who shrieked loudly then started laughing at the sudden weight being dumped on her. 

—

Izzie was dating the nice guy that showed Casey around. So Casey talked about Evan for a bit, which quickly gave way to the topic of boyfriends being a full fledged conversation. Well, it became as much of a conversation as two drunk 16 year olds could have.

“To be honest, I think half the reason why I spend so much time with Nate is because I don't want to go home.” Izzie said, sighing and moving her free hand around aimlessly.

“Not because he's your boyfriend and you love him very much?” Casey was definitely more intoxicated than Izzie, but then, she wasn’t really surprised.

“No, Nate's awesome. But sometimes it just feels not quite right with him. Like he's from a different planet and won't ever know what it's like on my planet.” Izzie giggled “You ever feel that way with Evan?” She asked.  
Casey hesitated for a second. Why did she hesitate? She was happy with Evan right? Whatever, Izzie was looking at her weirdly again.

“Uhh, no. No, not really.” Both girls burst out laughing again. Izzie and Casey caught their breath, and between wheezes Izzie spoke again.

“Lucky ho.” Casey snorted, and both girls broke down laughing again.

——

Casey was drunk. Like really really drunk. She couldn’t go home, her Dad would go mad. So, she thought, the best logical place to go would be Evan’s house. Nate came and picked Izzie up, presumably to take her home, and Casey began the walk to Evan’s house. She didn’t really have much time to think about her night, as she was too busy concentrating on not falling over.

She reached the wooden door of Evan’s house and knocked on it, wincing as she saw it was Beth in the doorway, not Evan. Casey walked up into Evan’s room and pushed the door open, walking in without saying a word. She could hear him talking through his Xbox to someone, probably about whatever game he was playing before she turned up. 

“That's exactly what happens when you drop into Tilted Towers. I told you to go, I told everybody to land at Dusty Depot. Well, what are you- Casey, hey! What are you doing here.”

 

“Beth let me in.” She slurred. “She was, She was baking a cake 'cause she hit Sam with the car, so I grabbed a little handful of it and here we are.” Casey said, hiccuping every few seconds. “She seems upset, though. She didn't even want to dance with me.”

Evan eyed her. “Are you drunk?” 

“What?” Casey was still slurring, and now she was swaying as she spoke.

“Are you drunk?”

“No I’m not.”

“You’re drunk.”

“What? Pffft, no.”

“I've never seen you drink before, this isn't like you.” He sounded really worried about her, but she didn’t question it.

 

“So what, man? Maybe it's fine if you just don't want to be perfect for one second.” She mumbled, using Izzie’s words from earlier. She liked Izzie. Izzie was cool. Oh, Evan was speaking again.

“You already got detention, you could get kicked out of school.” He sounded kinda mad now. She should try and cheer him up.

“Hey, guess what?” She said, grabbing his arm.

“What?” 

“I'm ready to have sex again.”

“No.” He gave her a strange look.

“Why are you being so weird? Come on! Don't you want to do it?” Casey was getting upset now. Why didn’t he want to? Was there something wrong with her? 

He sighed. “I'm trying to be the good guy here.” 

“Come on. This is going to be really special.” Casey whispered.”I'm looking you right in the eyes.”

“No, you're not looking at me. You’re looking in the mirror.” Evan said, pointing at a girl across the room.

That girl across the room was pretty, Casey thought.  
“You're pretty.” 

Evan paused, then chuckled.  
“Well, yes. She is pretty. Alright. Okay.  
I'm gonna go get you some water.”

He walked out of the room, and that was the last thing Casey saw before she passed out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pls give me validation, tell me what you thinks gonna happen!!


	3. Chapter 3

Casey woke up with a start to the tune of Christopher’s groaning, wincing as she tried to recall the night before. Wait. Christopher? Why was she anywhere near Christopher? She quickly looked at the bed she was laying in, realising it wasn’t her own. 

What even happened yesterday? She got detention. With Izzie. Who wasn’t as much of a bitch as she first seemed.

But where the fuck was she?

Casey remembered going to Evan’s house. Then passing out in his room. But this bed wasn’t Evan’s. Or hers. Yet again Christopher interrupted her thoughts.

“Great. Now there’s two of you.” He said, exasperated.

Two of us? Casey thought. Who’s the other one- 

Oh.

Oh.

She pushed herself up into a sitting position and called out for the ‘other one’

“Mom?” Her mouth felt like it had been stuffed with cotton wool. She needed water.

Christopher quickly fled the scene as Elsa entered the room holding a glass of water and aspirin.

She sighed. 

“Oh good, you’re up.”

Elsa say down on the bed and handed Casey the water and medicine. 

“We have a lot to talk about young lady.”

Crap. Crap crap crap.

Casey didn’t say a word, all she did was sip on her water, looking sheepishly towards her mother. 

“What the hell Casey? You know how much it took for you to get into that school. And now what? You’re throwing it away? First, you’re arguing with girls on the team and now you're getting drunk on school grounds? What’s going on with you?”

She suddenly stood up, throwing back the covers as she squared up to Elsa.

“What’s going on with me? Well, maybe it's just being in a new school, mom. Maybe i’m struggling with the classes. Or maybe, just maybe, my mother caused my entire family to implode then left me and dad to pick up the pieces.” Casey was shouting now,and Elsa looked down guiltily. 

Casey was going to continue shouting but she heard footsteps travelling up the stairs. She couldnt be here any longer. Casey grabbed her jacket, quickly slipping on her shoes and flying down the stairs. She shoved her way past christopher’s mom and slammed the door behind her, taking off running as soon as she was at the end of the driveway.

——

For the next few hours Casey just lay in her bed, occasionally scrolling through Instagram. She was bored out of her mind, but not bored enough to leave her bedroom. She was too angry at Elsa anyway. So there she lay. Until she got hungry. Like, really hungry. Casey sighed.

Rolling off her bed she threw a hoodie on, putting her phone into her pocket and walking to the kitchen. Casey hopped up onto the side and perked up suddenly as Sam walked into the room mumbling about a letter.

“Take another look at it? What does that even mean?” He said, pacing around and around the island Casey was perched on. “This is crazy I don’t know how to do this.” 

Casey paid him no attention, instead scrolling through her Instagram feed again.

“So now I have to redo my entire essay-“ 

She didn’t hear the rest of what he said as her phone chimed with a message notification, immediately calling her attention towards it. Expecting it to be Evan, she locked her phone, but quickly unlocked it again as she read again who the message was from.

Izzie.

It was nothing special, no groundbreaking dramatic conversation, but it still made her smile as she opened the conversation.

Izzie- Quinn looking for vodka

Casey smiled even wider as she sent back a sheepish emoji, but found her attention back on Sam as he kept ranting. 

“So how am I supposed to change that?” He asked, evidently frustrated.

She stared at the paper in his hand. 

“Let me see?” She said, not really a question as she took it out of his hand and skimmed through it. She hummed every few seconds, but eventually came to the conclusion that the entire essay was basically a piece of shit. A funny piece of shit, but not one that was getting him into college. 

Casey sighed. 

“Yeah, this is garbage. It’s fun, but it’s garbage.” She said, placing the offending item down on the counter. 

“What? Why?” Sam did genuinely look confused, and it was then when Casey realised what he needed to do.

“You’re being too honest, you gotta, tell them what they want to hear. You gotta lie, my dude.” Well, she did it. Opened Pandora’s box. Given him the idea of lying. It wouldn’t hurt anyone though, so what was the issue?

“I can’t lie. I’m bad at it and I don’t like it. What’s the point?” 

“Well imagine if you didn’t like your boss at work.” She was trying to take it to his level now.

“I do, I like Bob.” Now he just looked even more confused

Casey sighed again.

“I know, that’s why I said imagine, you dope. But the point is, if you lie, pretend that you like them, you’re fine! But if you tell them the truth,” Her expression darkened, “you get fired, you can’t afford food, and you get shanked for cutting in line at the soup kitchen.” She paused. “And then you die.”

Sam looked incredibly uncomfortable but seemed to understand.

“Huh. I guess that does make a lot of sense.” Sam nodded. 

“Sometimes you gotta lie to get by.” Casey shook her head in mock sadness.

He suddenly perked up. 

“Oh! Like how a polar bear cub will cover its black nose to blend in with the snow when it’s trying to hunt a seal.” 

Huh? She grimaced a bit. 

“Uh, Yeah. Sure! But what I’m saying is lying is an important survival skill. Like using a flint to light a fire.”

Shit 

He looked confused again

“But I can’t do that either.” 

Casey shook her head.

“Oh dude, it’s not that hard.”

“Really?”

“I don’t know, it was a lie.” She smirked. “Do you see how easy that was?”

Sam looked impressed.

“Yes. You’re really good at lying.”

“Oh yeah, I learned everything I know from the dark lord herself.” When he gave no evidence he knew who that was, she elaborated. “Mom.” 

“Oh. I’ll go and talk to her then.” And without anymore conversation he walked out of the room. 

Well, that was weird.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it was filler, but there’s some drama to comeee

**Author's Note:**

> Tell me if you like it cause like I crave validation also shoutout to Emily cause I couldn’t think of a title <3 ... come and shout at me on tumblr: chikdnoodleness


End file.
